Yongsan Korean restaurant for sizzling spicy octopus: Jjigaen Jjukkumi

Now that the weather has turned cooler, I keep craving something spicy and warming. You have days like that too, right? The kind of day when you suddenly think of jukkumi (webfoot octopus) sizzling away on a hot plate.

So this time I went to Jjigaen Jjukkumi Yongmun Market Branch (찌갠쭈꾸미 용산용문시장점), a jukkumi spot known around Yongsan's Yongmun Market. Yongmun Market is so popular these days and has loads of great places to eat, but this was my first time hearing about this one.

People said it was a neighborhood-famous jukkumi restaurant, so I went with equal parts anticipation and curiosity. To give you the conclusion first… I was so happy to feel like I'd properly found a hidden gem!

Basic information

What is the atmosphere like?

As soon as you walk in, the orange walls and jukkumi-character logo catch your eye, and they're quietly cute. The restaurant was quite a bit larger than I expected. With round drum tables, regular tables, and wall-side seating all mixed together, it looked easy to settle in whether you were eating alone, with family, at a neighborhood gathering, or for a work dinner.

Every table has a built-in grill, and the chairs are storage seats with lids, which is handy for keeping outerwear or bags inside. When you're having hot-plate food, you worry about sauce splashing onto your clothes, you know. Little details like this are so welcome.

And I burst out laughing when I saw the “How to eat it even more deliciously” poster on the wall.

First, stir it well. Second, stir it we~ll. Third, stir it often!

I laughed at first, but as I ate, it turned out this was really the key. I'll tell you why below, haha.

Menu and prices

The hot-plate dishes require an order for at least two people, and you can choose the spice level. The standard level is listed as about Shin Ramyun spicy, but it felt milder than that to me~^^

There is also Korean pork kimchi stew (medium ₩20,000 / large ₩30,000), plus Korean pork duruchigi, whole chicken, and spicy chicken stew (₩30,000 each). Add-ons such as glass noodles, kalguksu noodles, rice cakes, and tofu are ₩3,000; fried rice is ₩3,000; and cheese fried rice or flying-fish-roe fried rice is ₩4,000.

There are lunch specials too. Fire-grilled jukkumi is ₩10,000 per person, and fire-grilled cheese jukkumi is ₩12,000 per person (both require a minimum of two), while Korean pork braised ribs are ₩10,000 per person, so it looked fine for a solo lunch too. If you're looking for jukkumi around Yongsan's Yongmun Market at lunch, check out these options as well.

We ordered the jukkumi pork belly that was featured on Amazing Saturday and added glass noodles (₩3,000).

Side dishes and flying-fish-roe mayo

The side dishes were pickled radish wraps, stir-fried fish cake, seasoned bean sprouts, and perilla leaves. Nothing flashy, but exactly the right lineup to have with jukkumi. The pickled radish wraps are essential when you're eating something spicy, especially.

A small bowl of mayonnaise and flying fish roe comes out too; just mix them together and dip. Taking a dip now and then while eating spicy food gave my mouth a little break.

Jukkumi pork belly: how often should you stir it?

Finally, the star of this Yongsan Yongmun Market jukkumi spot: jukkumi pork belly! Pork belly circles the edge of the hot plate, while red-sauce jukkumi, bean sprouts, and scallions are piled high in the center. It passed the visual test already.

Once you turn on the heat and the pork belly starts to cook, mix and stir-fry the jukkumi and bean sprouts in the middle. This is where that poster comes in: because it's a hot plate, the sauce quickly sticks to the bottom if you let your guard down for even a moment. So you really do need to stir it “often.” That poster wasn't there for no reason, haha.

Once it is fully cooked, it looks like this. The pork belly fat soaks into the sauce, making the jukkumi much nuttier, while the jukkumi keeps its springy bite. The spice was just right too. Rather than an aggressively hot flavor, savory umami came through first, so I kept reaching for my chopsticks. It was impossible to stop!

The glass noodles were a little different from what we expected. I had pictured the thin noodles used in japchae, but these were wide and thick, haha. At first I went, “Oh?” but they were good too. (Thin glass noodles are more my style, though.. haha.) If you have the jukkumi pork belly, try adding the noodles.

I also made wraps with a perilla leaf, jukkumi, pork belly, and a little flying-fish-roe mayo. The perilla leaf made the heat feel gentler, and I liked the little pops of roe too.

I had planned to finish with fried rice, but after the jukkumi pork belly and noodles, I was far too full to manage it. I have a pretty small stomach ㅠㅠ I kept regretting leaving that sauce behind. Fried rice is ₩3,000, while cheese or flying-fish-roe fried rice is ₩4,000. Next time, I'll bring more people and make sure we get the fried rice too.

Things to know before visiting

• For a first visit, I recommend the signature jukkumi pork belly plus glass noodles combination.
• If you do not handle spice well, be sure to ask for an adjusted spice level when ordering.
• The weekday lunch specials are good value. For a solo meal, the individual pork braised-ribs menu feels manageable.
• If you want fried rice too, I recommend going with a group. Cheese and flying-fish-roe fried-rice upgrades are also available.

What was disappointing

One downside: because hot-plate dishes require at least two orders, you cannot order the jukkumi pork belly alone. There is also no dedicated parking, so driving means parking separately at a public lot, which was a little inconvenient.

It is on the first floor at 60 Wonhyo-ro 41-gil, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, South Korea (서울 용산구 원효로41길 60 1층), about a five-minute walk from Exit 3 of Hyochang Park Station.

It was such a nice day to discover a place I hadn't known in Yongmun Market, where there are already so many good restaurants. If you're looking for jukkumi around Yongsan's Yongmun Market, give it a try. I'll be back for the fried rice.